STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- Tompkinsville Park, across the street from where Eric Garner died Thursday following an altercation with police, has been the epicenter of unruly, and oftentimes unlawful, behavior in the neighborhood, according to local business owners.

Whether it's selling crack, stealing liquor, or fistfights in the park, residents and store owners say they've made hundreds of 911 calls and 311 complaints about the criminal activity in the area.

The owner of the Studio Art Gallery on Bay Street, just a few doors down from where Eric Garner died Thursday afternoon, said he's made more than 100 complaints to the city about various things, from harassment to people loitering on the steps in front of his store.

"Alcohol seems to be the drug of choice here," said the owner, who wished to remain anonymous. "I've seen guys selling crack or doing heroin down the block. My tenants have been threatened and moved out because of people in the area."

The studio owner, who moved into that location in 2006, said the neighborhood has gotten progressively worse. It's become more violent and the drug use has increased. Just the other day, he said, he saw a kid overdose after washing down five Xanax pills with a beer.

"Hardly a day goes by where you don't see a fight," he said. "The park is the big problem."

So far this year, there have been 98 arrests for various offenses in Tompkinsville Park, 100 cease summonses issued for mostly quality of life offenses, as well as 646 911 calls for service within the park's immediate area, Bratton said.

Garner, 43, of Port Richmond, had been arrested twice since March on charges of selling untaxed cigarettes near where Thursday's incident unfolded, court records show.

"Selling cigarettes sounds like a victimless crime, but it attracts the wrong kind of people to the area," the art gallery owner said.

Other merchants in the troubled neighborhood have noticed a larger police presence around the park, and feel the cops are trying to clean up the neighborhood riddled with junkies and drunks.

The owner of Tompkinsville Wines and Liquor on Bay Street said he called about a theft from his store just eight days ago, and the police responded and caught the perpetrator immediately.

"It's definitely the park," said the liquor store owner, who has been at that location for two years and declined to give his name. "I've seen a lot people get citations for peeing in public and drinking in public. I think they want to clean up the area."

An employee at a deli on Victory Boulevard, just across from Tompkinsville Park, said he hasn't made any 311 complaints, but has made quite a few 911 calls in the six months he's worked at the store.

"I probably call the cops once or twice a month for stealing," the employee, who works at the Elegant Grill and Deli on Victory Boulevard, said. "They respond and take care of it."